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Marijuana edibles gain favor

A new survey from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment reflects a national trend of marijuana enthusiasts moving away from smoking marijuana in favor of edibles, oils, and vaporizers. Consumers are switching to products marketed for their potency and perceived health benefits and seem to prefer a more inconspicuous way to use marijuana. Cannabis retailers echo this sentiment indicating that customers are moving away from smokable marijuana, also known as flower.

Edibles represent a comprehensive range of products infused with THC and cannabidiol (CBD) such as:

Cookies, brownies, and chocolate bars, including lookalikes to popular brands like Kit Kat

Hard candies, suckers, taffy, and gummy bears

Cold brews, teas, milks, coffees, juices, and sodas

Syrups to add to beverages

Butters and oils

Pot chips and pretzels

Alcohol-based cannabis extracts called tinctures

Dissolvable cannabinoid powders

Cannabis capsules dubbed “therapeutic”

Marijuana positivity rates in the U.S. workforce are consistent with increasing sales of marijuana with the latest Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ data continuing its 5-year upward trajectory. Additionally, increases in positivity rates for marijuana were most striking in states that have enacted recreational use statues since 2016. In Colorado and Washington, the first states in which recreational marijuana use was legalized, the overall urine positivity rate for marijuana outpaced the national average in 2016 for the first time since the statutes took effect. The increase was more pronounced in Colorado than in Washington.

As marijuana products gain popularity, the benefits of drug testing are realized as companies strive to keep the workplace safe and drug-free. Weighing in factors such as employee type, detection window, geography, and state laws, there are multiple drug test type options – ranging from oral fluid to instant urine – to effectively detect marijuana and deter substance abuse.